obama, 47% would support the former governor of massachusetts. the first of three debates will take place wednesday night in denver. one republican leader predicted mitt romney's performance will be strong enough to reshape the race. steve handelsman on capitol hill now with more on this. >> reporter: jim, thanks, good evening. both these candidates are looking at the polls, mostly in the battleground states. and they're all eyeing this debate, both eyeing this debate on wednesday. picture it, mitt romney side by side with barack obama. this is what challengers want, to be literally on an even keel with the incumbent president and 60 million americans could tune in. prominent republicans said today, it's huge. they're setting up for the debate in denver. one of mitt romney's biggest backers sounds upbeat. >> every time he's been challenged, in one of these situations, and had a debate, he's come forward with an outstanding performance. listen, i plead guilty to having

confidence in the guy on wednesday night. >> reporter: but romney trails in every battleground state. >> he's got to redefine himself as someone who cares about the average american. he's got to show how his policies connect to that caring. and he has to show how president obama's policies have not produced a better result than his policies will. boy, that's a lot to do in one debate. >> reporter: at a rally in nevada last night, president obama denied he's confident. >> no, no, governor romney, he's a good debater. i'm just okay. but what i'm most concerned about is having a serious discussion about what we need to do to keep the country growing. >> reporter: while the candidates disappear for debate practice, their campaigns are working harder. pat harper, 79, is a volunteer for president obama. >> he did the best he could, i think, with what he had to work

with. >> reporter: she's in waterloo, iowa, in her hometown, a battleground state. pat finds obama backers like kathy gerten. would kathy vote early, pat asks? >> yes. >> reporter: team obama getting votes in the bag, in case the debate goes mitt romney's way. a big swing in the polls is possible. in 2000, al gore was ahead of george w. bush until their debates. gore lost nine points in the polls and he lost the white house. i'm steve handelsman, news4. a white house official acknowledged today that hackers tried to infiltrate the white house computer system. the official said the attack was prevented and that the target was an unclassified network. the white house account contradicts an earlier story, that reported that hackers from china had broken into one of the u.s. government's most sensitive

computer networks. today officials would not say whether the white house attack has been linked to china. to a developing story involvie ining an american airl flight. it made an emergency landing today. the pilot got sick shortly after takeoff. a co-pilot took control. the plane landed safely in st. louis about noon eastern time. the pilot was rushed to a hospital. a new crew took over and flew the passengers on to dallas. the pilot's illness and condition are not known. there was another problem on an american airlines flight that had to make an emergency landing today. that flight was headed from jfk airport in new york to miami. it turned back and landed safely after complaints of loose seats on the plane. it was the second seat of seats that were loose in three days. on saturday, a row of seats got loose on a flight from boston to miami. that plane was diverted to new york. american airlines is conducting an internal investigation. the company canceled more than 400 flights last week.

they blame all the problems on a high number of pilots making complaints about mechanical problems, and calling out sick. the pilots are in the middle of a contract dispute. there will be a full report on this tonight on "nightly news" with brian williams. tonight, a local university is mourning the loss of a pros fesser. he was killed in a freak accident while walking his dog in the district this morning. police say a driver had a medical emergency, and then ran over rhett leverett near 6th and e northwest. leverett was considered a fixture in the penn quarter neighborhood. jackie bensen with more from the friends and neighbors. >> reporter: beth, a west highland terrier looks around, confused and sad. the man who loved her, who cared for her, is gone. rhett leverett was an old-fashioned southern gentleman, a well-known and beloved figure in this penn quarter neighborhood where he and beth took a stroll several

times a day. that's what they were doing about 9:30 this morning when something awful happened. without warning a car jumped the curb, went up onto the sidewalk in the 500 block of 6th street northwest and struck leverett. police say the driver had some type of medical emergency. it's not clear whether it was a seizure or heart attack. lou who runs the hot dog stand on the corner ran to help. >> i said, you'll be okay. >> reporter: the terrible news spread quickly, and this community of condo dwellers came together in their grief. >> he was just a mainstay of the lafayette where we live. and he's going to be really, really missed. >> reporter: friend and neighbor cynthia wilson immediately took in beth, who was not physically injured in the accident. >> the mayor of penn quarter is what i would jokingly call him. he would be out on his rounds checking on things and checking on the other residents and checking on the building.

he will be sorely missed by many, many, many people. and hopefully we can find someone who will care for beth. >> reporter: leverett was also a well-respected professor of history at marymount university in arlington. beth sometimes accompanied him. >> he was such a warm and welcoming part of this community. and his loss will be felt for a very long time. >> reporter: such was his love for his little dog, that as mr. leverett was dying on the sidewalk, he kept asking the people trying to help him, is my dog okay? and of course, she is. reporting in northwest washington, jackie bensen, news4. this could be a big night for washington. the nationals baseball team could win the first franchise division title in more than three decades. but while all eyes will be on the diamond, some eyes will also be on the skies. veronica johnson has a look at some wet weather headed our way. hey, v.j. >> hey there, doreen. that's right, it will be a little wet here coming over the next couple of hours.

as showers move on into our area, and continue moving on through. look at this. we've got a big batch of rain sitting down to the south, around the charleston area of virginia, and west virginia, roanoke, virginia, all this headed to the northeast right through our area. it's a little wet right now. you can see the scattered showers around frederick and into d.c., on down to the south. it's only going to turn a bit sogier as we go through our evening. north of bethesda, d.c., kettering looking at some showers. the forecast for the game, let's play ball, right? 7:05 first pitch. scattered showers. but mainly light showers around our area. dropping from the upper 60s to the mid-60s, so it will be a little wet, but i can't see this game being canceled because of the weather at all. >> thank you, veronica. it's what everybody hoped for when baseball returned to washington six years ago. tonight, the nats play for the franchise's first division title in more than 30 years. it's been even longer than that

since washington had a team in the championship. that last appearance was way back in 1933 against the new york giants. erica gonzalez joins us from nats park where fans are arriving for what they hope will be a very long drought. >> reporter: yes, the big question is, who invited the rain, first and foremost. a couple of fans taking out the umbrellas and ponchos. but people could care less. this is a huge game, to say the least. washington, d.c. could have the first division title since 1933. so the nats are going to try and clinch this one here at home tonight. the nl east division. fans are starting to trickle in for the 7:05 start. the nats will have thousands watching and waiting to toast to victory. >> 33 years without baseball in

washington is a long time to wait. this will be a sweet victory if they can finish it up tonight. >> happy as can be. we finally get -- maybe get a championship back in the city again. >> we really think tonight's the night. and we're so excited. we've been fans since they came here in 2005. >> oh, yeah. go nats! >> reporter: everybody's excited. we saw a young lady just pass by, full mustache and beard, said, i'm not shaving until we clinch. people are going to all sorts of extremes in order to make sure that this one is in the bag. you also have the other lingering question, will teddy finally win? we'll have to see about that one. live at nats park, erica gonzalez, news4. after operating for more than 60 years on the potomac river there's a controversial coal-burning power plant there that's shut down today for good. it's the plant located on north royal street in alexandria.

it opened back in 1949. for the last several years, that facility was criticized as the biggest source of air pollution in northern virginia, maryland and the district. people who live in that area and the city government worked to shut it down. at a press conference today, the closure was described as a victory for people who lived and worked nearby. >> from this day on, the coal-fired power plant that you see here will stop blowing smoke and other pollutants into our air. >> it closes a chapter today on alexandria's unwanted residents. >> the mayor says he hopes to turn that site into commercial and retail space. a much anticipated debut in the district today. the new state of the art forensic lab officially opened near the national mall. it has facilities for testing firearms, running flu tests and even analyzing chemicals and potential terror attacks. tom sherwood takes us inside a

building that most of us will never step inside. >> reporter: from security doors using eye identification -- >> thank you. you have been identified. >> reporter: -- to water tanks for testing bullets, to walking into a morgue storage room with space for 200 refrigerated bodies, twice the old capacity. the new $210 million forensics headquarters, three years to construct, is a major improvement for crime and chemical analysis that has eluded the district for decades. >> the potential that this building gives to the district of columbia to increase, improve, and expand its ability to do forensic analysis, to solve crimes, is just enormous. >> three, two, one. >> reporter: it will take several more months for the building to be fully operational.

residents were initially worried it might pose a potential hazard. >> initially folks were concerned because when mayor williams brought up the idea, it was not too far after 9/11. and so folks were naturally concerned that we might have agents in the air. >> when you walk by in our building, you don't need to get scared of what's happening in. it is a friendly-looking building. regardless of the sophisticated signs. it has layers of safety, and layers of security also that, again, may not be visible on the vet. >> reporter: in the district, tom sherwood, news4. three u.s. service members were killed by a suicide bombing in afghanistan. and the threat against americans there is growing. somebody side swiped cars in a stolen truck and the video of the crime is not the most disturbing part of this story. >> i heard the loud bang. so i come outside to see what

was going onnd i see everybody standing around a little boy. i'm on the sidewalk along massachusetts avenue. just east of ward circle. this is where they say it's happening. this is where they say a man is groping women. targeting au students. i'm pat collins. i'm pat collins. the story coming up.e.

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14 people, including three americans were killed in a suicide bombing in afghanistan today. it happened as u.s. forces were patrolling with afghan police officers. they were walking toward a market between a suicide bomber on a bicycle ran into them and detonated the bomb.

the war in syria that has killed as many as 30,000 people in the last 18 months claimed two more lives tea. today. activists said the syrian troops bombed a town just four miles from the turkish border and at least 12 people were killed including five children. this as the war is taking a dramatic new turn. rebels have launched a massive attack on aleppo on multiple fronts. so far, there is no end in sight, and while many fear this war could become a wider regional conflict, the u.n. is predicting as many as 700,000 refugees could flee syria by the end of this year. and meantime, human rights watch

is documenting the use of race and torture as weapons in this war, and called for an international investigation into possible crimes against humanity in syria. the death toll is expected to rise. now back to you. ikea is coming under fire in which it airbrushed women out of photos. the catalog is printed in 38 countries, largely looks the same everywhere. but there appears to be one major exception. in the saudi arabian version, they've been removed. it met with criticism. sweden called it a sad example of the oppression of women. ikea says it regrets the catalog. the supreme court rejected more than a dozen cases, justices turned away a nebraska group trying to enforce a law that would require women to get

screened before having an abortion. they also won't hear a fight against the tsa's use of those full-body scanners. but the supreme court has yet to decide a challenge to president's health care law. liberty university said it violates religious freedom. several gay marriage cases and voter i.d. cases could still be decided by the high court. veronica's here with more about our weather, and the chances for rain tonight, and the rest of the week. >> through tomorrow. at least. then we're going to kind of see areas kind of come and go for the rest of the week. kind of in and out of the clouds. it's not going to be all that wet here for the evening. and for the early part of the night. tomorrow morning rush hour, you might want to leave a little early. moderate to heavy rain could be moving through the area. it is cloudy, overcast, gray, gloomy. this is weather that you just want to take a nap, right? >> yes.

>> doreen agrees. high of 72 degrees today, after starting out at 54. average high, 74 degrees. last year, 59 degrees was the high temperature. we did have rain around the area. 59. you know what? next week this time, i'm talking about highs right around 60 degrees. so we are going to be seeing a major pattern change take place. today we have 67 degrees at reagan national airport. the humidity is coming up. you'll notice more humidity in the air during the overnight period. it will be a soggy one for tomorrow morning. we already have some scattered light showers around the area. you can see areas from baltimore, columbia, i-95 and around 29, wet with light rain, around annapolis. th's moving northeast away from the area. we've got more scattered showers here from petersburg, through luray, down towards charlottesville. that will be moving through. again, i'm thinking for the evening hours, for the early

night, just not going to be all that wet. but by tomorrow morning, we could be getting moderate rains, because as you look down to the south, which is going to be moving in the areas around kentucky and around tennessee, there are pockets of moderate and heavy rain there, and even some thunder. that's what we'll be getting tomorrow afternoon. a little bit of thunder with this rain coming through. here's a look at your good night wakeup forecast, 9:00, 11:00 p.m., showers come through, the temperatures dropping to the low 60s. not really dropping much more as we head through tomorrow morning. clouds with rain. again, moderate rain is possible for the early part of the day tomorrow. here's a look at where we stand right now. gaithersburg at 66. quantico, not too bad. not all that chilly during the overnight period. but boy, they have been chilly today in those areas that have gotten the rain earlier. jackson was at 50 degrees.

roanoke at 59. 57 in elkins, west virginia. that all under the rain. you would think tomorrow that with all the rain coming into this area, we would be cool, too. but we're going to see a little warm front here, make its way on through. that's what's going to take our temperatures into the upper 70s for tomorrow. i even think the day after on wednesday will be around 80, perhaps into the low 80s. as that warm front comes on through, we'll get moderate and heavy rain for the morning. possible showers and storms for the afternoon, specially along east of 95. wednesday, a few clouds stuck around the area with maybe a passing shower. so take the umbrella this evening as we drop from the low 60s to the upper 50s. from a little wet to a lot wet for tomorrow. especially during the morning. 55 to 63 your temperature. it will be hitting a high of about 73 tomorrow to 79 degrees. warmer than today. in fact, all week long we're going to see the temperatures get into the upper 70s to low

s, including when we get the sunshine back on thursday and friday. next weekend, another major change coming. we'll take a look at that in a couple of minutes. but again, 'tis the season. that's when we see the huge drop in the temperatures. >> don't put away all the warm-weather clothes. >> yes. coming up, occupy d.c. protesters are back in town. see what they're planning for the rest of the weekend. in virginia, people are choosing sides, one lawn at a time. out here at the park talking redskins with chris cooley. and then it's the nationals who are trying to seal the deal in the national league east. [ male announcer ] for the dreamers...

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police are looking for a guy

who's been groping students at american university. the latest incident happened just last night on massachusetts avenue. >> police say the suspect comes from behind, and grabs women inappropriately and runs away. pat collins is live with more on what the university is doing to protect students. pat? >> reporter: doreen, this is where it happened, massachusetts avenue. four attacks in one week. the victims, all au students. american university, it's located in the prestigious spring valley section of washington. but not all the students live here on campus. many live a couple blocks away in apartments along massachusetts avenue. and they use these sidewalks to get to and from school. that's the scene of these attacks. the university describes it as forcible fondling, and they say it's happened here four times in the last week.

they say the suspect strikes late at night or in the dark hours of the morning, that he sneaks up behind women, gropes them and then runs away. now, i talked to someone who knows one of the victims. >> she basically said a hooded guy ran by her, and she didn't hear him when he was coming up and she turned around and the guy was gone. >> reporter: today au e-mailed students to alert them about these attacks. >> i normally feel really safe around here, like i'm not in the city or anything. so that's a little bit terrifying. >> something's got to be done. i mean, it's definitely uncalled for, and it's not okay. >> reporter: this advice from the university to students. walk in groups, avoid isolated and dark areas, carry your cell phone and keep it accessible. tonight d.c. police, au police,

stepping up patrols. they want to get this guy off the streets. live in northwest, i'm pat collins, news4. thanks, pat. today in maryland it is now a law to publish a list of missing children. it's called felicia's law named after felicia barnes. she went missing in 2010 while visiting baltimore. her body was later found in the susquehanna river. right now, democrats and republicans are awaiting a pennsylvania judge's ruling on the state voter i.d. law. it requires a picture i.d. to cast a ballot. democrats say it's to keep minorities from voting in the election, republicans say it will cut down on voting fraud. the district officially

opened its new crime lab today, that brings a new era of crime fighting into the city. the state of the art building will provide space for firearms testing and a new morgue, among other things. there will be room for testing for the flu and other epidemics and also analysis for possible terrorist attacks. the lab is in southwest d.c., not far from the national mall. neighbors and friends are mourning the loss of a local professor hit and killed while walking his dog in d. krflt today. a car struck rhett leverett near 6th and e streets northwest this morning. leverett was a much-loved history professor at marymount. police say the driver who hit him had some kind of medical emergency, and lost control. occupy d.c. protesters are back in town. they say they'll be here most of the week to mark the one-year anniversary of their movement. today there were scuffles with police, a few of them anyhow, aras the protesters marched along k

street. >> reporter: they chanted slogans bringing back memories of last year's occupy d.c. their goal? shut down k street. demonstrating against big business, banks and government. occupy d.c. protesters entered this building. there was pushing and shoving, but no violence. they occupied pennsylvania avenue sitting down on the pavement, blocking traffic, until police issued this warning. >> you will be arrested. this is your third and final warning. >> reporter: they moved to freedom plaza. like last year, the occupy d.c. movement represents a variety of causes. >> it always meant the same thing. take money out of my political system because my government is a democracy which should protect me. not corporations making billions of dollars in profits. >> reporter: the u.s. chamber of

commerce, protesting the policies on the front door steps. they left saying, we'll be back. they walked through mcpherson square, now clean and green. a year ago, the federal park was a tent city, where many of them lived for months on end. for christina mckenna, her 5-year-old twins and 3-month-old baby, it was a trip back in time. >> this is johnny. johnny was conceived in mcpherson square. his anniversary of conception will be in just a couple of weeks. my whole family came by. we lived there for three months. it was a wonderful experience. >> reporter: this occupy organizational tent is the only one you will find on freedom plaza. no one is spending the night here, or in mcpherson square. i am told that occupy d.c. participants will gather here tomorrow at noon, and march to the va to demand more health care benefits for those who served in afghanistan, iraq, and the war in vietnam. at freedom plaza, chris gordon,

news4. prince george's county launched its new 311 call center today, that works similar to 911, except it's for non-emergency calls. it handles minor services including trash pickup and potholes. it's open monday through friday from 7:00 in the morning to 7:00 p.m. at night. virginia hopes a new partnership will save lives, and cash. the geico insurance company is now sponsoring the safe phone zones at highway rest stops in the commonwealth. the program urges drivers to pull over at rest stos stops to use their cell phones and texts. the deal with geico helps to pay to keep the rest areas open. virginia is the first state to get a sponsor for its rest stops. as we get closer to election day, more and more campaign signs are springing up on lawns, and elsewhere, for both presidential candidates. one candidate seems to have a

lot more signs out than the other. tonight northern virginia bureau chief julie carey takes a look at whether winning the sign war really matters. >> reporter: it's the first time these vienna residents have ever picked up a presidential campaign sign to stake in their front yard. >> i feel strongly about the issues. my core values going along with his core values. >> reporter: while yard signs certainly reflect a homeowner's enthusiasm about a candidate, the campaigns take a different view of their value in the overall get out the vote effort. in the mitt romney campaign office in arlington, keeping a well stocked supply is one of these volunteer's duties. >> we have people coming in every day off the street calling in for signs. as soon as they come in, they fly off the shelf. people love the signs. we make them as fast as we can. >> reporter: even in democratic strong holds inside the beltway like alexandria, and here in falls church, where you would expect to see obama signs, there are also romney signs alongside them. while romney supporters suggest

the signs are indicative of growing support, the obama campaign has a slightly different philosophy about the importance of yard signs. as they put it, signs don't vote. >> it's the people in our neighborhoods who are going to decide this election, not the yard signs. >> reporter: until recently, obama yard signs could be purchased online. so could romney signs. but the republican campaign offices have also been handing them out for free for months. this obama campaign office in falls church just got its first batch of 1,500 yard signs to give away for free. the volunteers here say when they hand over a sign, it's a chance to pull in a new recruit. >> when they ask for a yard sign, we ask them if they're volunteers. if they say no, we say, right here, here's your form. >> reporter: the romney campaign said its signs are proof of what they say is an unprecedented gop get out the vote effort. >> it's the largest gop get out

the vote effort in history. it's only going to grow between now and the election. >> reporter: no doubt the number of yard signs for both candidates will keep growing, too. in fairfax, julie carey, news4. coming up, a kid who's not even old enough to drive is in a lot of trouble for getting caught behind the wheel. but that wasn't the only problem. peanut butter recall is expanding well beyond the sandwich spread. vmperonica? >> you can see where the rain is, around manassas, woodbridge, more scattered showers down to the south and that's exactly what's going to be moving in our way. wet by tomorrow morning with temperatures starting out in the 50s.

a 10-year-old boy is in a lot of trouble tonight after stealing a truck, then going on a joyride in philadelphia sunday afternoon. this surveillance video shows

the boy and the ford truck as he plows into five parked cars. after the crash, he tried to take off running. neighbors held on to the kid until police got there. he's facing auto theft and other charges. nobody got hurt. a witness said he overheard the boy tell police his parents made him do it. a peanut butter recall that started at trader joe's is expanding again tonight. new mexico-based sunland incorporated makes peanut butter for several retailers. the products are being called back after 30 salmonella related illnesses in 19 states. the products can be bought at trader joe's, giant, whole foods and target stores. sunland said they are expanding the recall as a precautionary measure because some of the products are made on the same equipment. the number of guns found in carry-on baggage on airplanes is rising.

the transportation security administration says more than 1,100 guns have been found in carry-on baggage this year. the total has been climbing for the last two years, we're told. security experts point to an increase in gun sales. and the growth of right-to-carry laws. the tsa says in most cases travelers said they forgot that the weapon was in their bag. dan hellie at the park now with a look at what's coming up in sports. we can guess what that might be, dan. >> vance and doreen, it is monday. the cooley report is on the spot. we'll be talking nationals as they try to lock up the division title. and of course, redskins. >> we'll break down rg-iii, and then the game-winning field goal. >> of course, billy cundiff, as

take a look, there's nats park behind me. we're ready to play some ball. the forecast looking good. so the weather, i don't think at all is going to be getting in the way.

we're expecting scattered showers, mainly light showers from now up until about 9:00, maybe 10:00 p.m. we'll start to see pockets of more widespread rain moving in around that time of 9:00, 10:00 p.m. the rain continues on. for tomorrow morning, take a look behind me. there will be areas of moderate and heavy rain as indicated by the areas shaded in yellow and orange here. so very sloppy, i think, for part of our early-morning rush. we'll have some more rain showers around tomorrow afternoon. that rain finally starts winding down by the time we get to about midnight. early wednesday, we'll start clearing out, and certainly for the afternoon. but highs tomorrow will be in the upper 70s. some areas south could even hit a high of 80 degrees. there's rain for tomorrow. drier air coming our way for friday the end of the week. much cooler next week this time. this is the xfinity sports desk brought to you by xfinity. your home for the most live

sports. chris cooley out there. dan, i've got to ask you a question. i heard on the radio today that shanahan said he is not working out any kickers. i want to know if you and chris actually believe that, and can that be the case? >> well, let's touch on that for a moment. the question is, why aren't the redskins working out any kickers? chris, does that surprise you that he's not working out any kickers? >> i thought until he made the kick, they would be working out kickers this week. i heard a couple of rumors that neil might be in the building today. but that's unconfirmed. i think he kept his job. >> mike shanahan at least for this week, cundiff's job is going to be safe. that doesn't necessarily mean they won't be working out a kicker. before we talk about the redskins any further, i would be remiss if we wouldn't get out to nationals park where they have a chance to lock up the division title. that magic number down to one.

you feeling it? >> reporter: we're feeling it. we're waiting to see, fans are waiting. the big story, no question they want to wrap it up over the weekend. but you couldn't script it any better for the fans. a home date versus the phillies, with champagne on standby. the phillies, the same team that clinched the division title right in this park two years ago. so payback time. and i can tell you, as far as the players are concerned, and i know they're superstitious, so i don't want them to hear me say this, but they're feeling. >> feels good to come home. and hopefully take care of business, especially in front of the fans, like you said. they've been through a lot of this like we have. and they deserve it just as much as us. >> you just treat it like another game. you've got to think about it, but we just have to go out and concentrate on what we do. minimize everything. the rest of the stuff will take care of itself if we do our jobs. >> is the champagne chilling in the other room? >> i didn't know that. >> no pressure. >> for me, i just want to go out

and win tonight. i really want to win this series so we can go into the play-offs. >> reporter: take them one game at a time. but i know that i'm ready to be at the party when they uncork the champagne bolts. so hellie, bring it on. i know you're going to join me later and we're going to do those interviews together. let's go. >> i love it, maloney, the wiley veteran, has the goggles ready to go. the rain parka ready. i have absolutely nothing. i'm going to stop on my way there. if you find me one, save it for me. >> reporter: you got it. >> see you in a bit down there at nationals. the cooley report with chris cooley, former pro bowl tight end for the redskins. everybody talking about rg-iii and the game-winning drive. he was nearly perfect. he ate the two-minute drill, scrambles for a 15-yard gain. and he does it without a headset. how impressive is it for a

rookie to have no communication with the sidelines, actually call some of his own plays here. >> i think he was very impressive. i think the confidence he showed to take the team down the field was fantastic. i was wondering about the headset, because i was watching the sidelines on tv, and you can see everyone signaling from the sidelines. you can see the coaches, players, doing all these signals. >> there you go. >> the redskins have signals for their two-minute drill. all the plays are also a sign language thing. i was wondering what was going on. apparently that was the case. rg-iii did such a good job. i think there's so much to be said for this team, building confidence around him. he's accustomed to winning. i think he believes 100% that he's going to win football games. and it's contagious. guys believe when they see a player like rg-iii know that he's going to do it, and then go down and do it. >> talk about being contagious, we talked about the kicker situation. fast forward to alfred morris. this kid is the biggest surprise

in the nfl, in my mind, this year. 113 yards in the game. the fifth leading rusher in the nfl, sixth round draft pick. how does shanahan continue to find these gems at running back? >> he knows what he's looking for. it was apparent very early in training camp that morris was going to be the guy. you could watch our zone running game develop like we talked about it developing. but when you break down the film, look at the way the texans did it, the broncos did it, davis, alfred morris was the type of back that hit the holes like coach shanahan wanted, like kyle wanted, and he's getting better and better. and he's such a humble guy, such a hard worker, such a lovable guy for this organization, for this family. >> he's a great kid. we were talking about the collision before the game. you've never seen anything like this. brandon meriwether and robinson collide.

robinson is actually knocked out. meriwether reinjures that knee. he's going to miss at least a week. what goes through your head when you saw this? >> i think this is unheard of. i've played in a lot of games, and been out even goofing around before games and never seen anything like this. it's so unfortunate. i think meriwether's been snake bitten all year with injuries. but to have another setback like this, and he's a key component of this defense, i really believe that. seeing what he's able to do, it's very unfortunate. just a big disappointment. it's something that you never want to see happen. but i guess -- i don't know how you prevent that. just a freak deal. >> they need him back there in the secondary. speaking of injuries, the point guard out for eight weeks with a knee injury. media day this afternoon. walt talked about the knee issue and how anxious he is to get back on the court. >> it's tough. i mean, just trying to keep

positive people around me, try to stay positive, don't think negative. just try to learn as much as i can on the sideline. just believe in my coaches and teammates that they can hold it down until i get back. >> john wahl, training camp starting tomorrow for the wizards. that is week number two of the cooley report. any other questions you want me to ask chris? >> i'm here. >> i'm just curious to know, you know, he looks at least as comfortable as you do. and he's only been doing this two weeks. what's up with that? >> we're going to have to slow him down a little bit. he's going to have a ron burgundy moment. >> we'll bring goggles later. now we know who's going to host this year's academy awards.

just weeks after hosting the season premiere of "saturday night live," seth mcfarland will host the oscars. this will be the first time the creator of "family guy" has

hosted a big telecast of any kind. he said it's an overwhelming privilege to host the oscars. it will air in february. one more check on the weather, veronica. and it's going to rain off and on for about the next 24 hours? >> yes. through most of tomorrow, i think we're going to see that rain. we'll be kind of dodging the rain drops. sometimes those drops will be pretty heavy. we could have pretty good puddles out there by noon tomorrow. we'll see the radar fill in with a lot more of the green come 9:00, 10:00 p.m. tomorrow morning, during the rush hour, some pockets of moderate and heavy rain. so you might want to leave early. today, we were a little on the cool side. upper 60s to the 70s. 83 on wednesday. 82 on thursday. we break out with more sunshine on friday.

the high 80. then a major, huge drop with a strong front coming through next weekend. 65 on the weekend. low 60s for the beginning of next week. so major change coming our way. start shopping right now for the warm weather gear. >> all right. thanks, veronica. it was a fierce storm in spain on friday, that storm triggered a tornado, and then some flooding. that flooding disrupted the area there. two large cargo ships ran aground. the boats were in the mediterranean sea when the storm hit. but they were swept up onto a beach in valencia. both captains say the safest way out of their predicament, they will pay whatever it costs to tow the boats to the nearest

port. >> well, yeah, what else. >> what else. >> row. >> duh! "nightly news" is up next.